Card Range To Study

31 Cards in this Set

System of government where the national government and state governments derive all authority from the people

Federal System

System of government where the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government. Examples: Canada, Mexico, Russia

Unitary system

17 specific powers granted to Congress
- Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. These powers include:
- Taxation
- Coinage of money
- Regulation of commerce
- and the authority to provide for a National defense

Enumerated Powers

The final paragraph of Article 1, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers specified in te Constitution; also called the eleastic clause

Necessary and Proper Clause

Portion of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to (that is, supercedes)all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.

Supremecy Clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states

Privileges and immunities clause

The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating: "The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Tenth Amendment

Powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state's right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens

Reserve (or police) powers

Authority possessed by both state and national governments that may be exercised concurrently as long as that power is not exclusive within the scope of national power or in conflict with national law.

Concurrent Powers

Portion of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decress and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.

Full Faith and credit clause

The Supreme Court upheld power of the national government and denied the right of state to tax the bank. The court's broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers.

McCulloch v. Maryland 1819

Belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement

Dual Federalism

The relationship between the national and state governments that began with the New Deal

Cooperative Federalism

Grant for which Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose

Categorical grant

Broad grant with few strings attached; given to states by the federal government for specified activites, such as secondary education or health services.

Block grant

Texas declared its independance in ____. A republic of Texas. Prior to its independence, Texas was governed as part of Mexico.The 1824 Constitution of Mexico established a federal republic and provided that each state should write its own constitution in 1827.
- Texas and Coahuila established a constitution in 1827.
- Texas declared independence in 1836.
- Republic of Texas.
Contained a declaration of rights. Created a bicameral Congress
- House and Senate whose members were popularly elected
- Exercised powers similar to those of the U.S. Congress.
Executive branch included a president and vice president.
Judiciary consisted of courts at four levels: justice, county, district, and supreme courts.
Included a preamble and
Incorporation of a separation of powers combined with checks and balances
- Recognition of slavery
- Definition of citizenship that precluded Africans, the descendents of Africans, and Indians
- A Bill of Rights
- Adult male suffrage
- An amending process
Very complex

Texas Constitution of 1836

A new constitution was necessary when Texas ceased to be an independent republic and joined the United States.
June 1845 — President Anson Jones
- Meeting to discuss annexation
- Drew up new state constitution which was ratified in October 1845
- Texas was the 28th state to join the U.S. Noted as an extremely good constitution
- Straightforward, simple form
- Created a bicameral legislature (House and Senate) that met every two years
- Governor served a two year term. Limited to serving no more than 4 years in any six-year period.
- Appointed Attorney General and Secretary of State
- General Provisions: longest article
- Limited legislatures powers
- Created a public school system

Texas Constitution of 1845

When Texas reentered the union after the Civil War, presidential Reconstruction required certain changes to the state’s charter.
- Acceptance of abolition of slavery
- Also added series of narrowly adopted amendments
* Governor’s term increased to 4 years
* Governor prohibited from serving more than 8 years in a 12-year period
* Governor given a line-item veto
* Salaries increased
* Only white men could serve in the legislature
* State supreme court extended to 5 judges; elected to 10 year terms

Texas Constitution of 1866

Congress ended Reconstruction in 1867
- More requirements were placed on Texas’s readmission
- Texas required to have another constitutional convention with delegates elected by all male citizens over age 21 regardless of color or previous condition of servitude
- Texas required to write a new state constitution that would provide for universal adult male suffrage
- When this new constitution was written and the state had ratified the 14th Amendment, their case for readmission would be considered.
- Convention broke up in confusion. 45 delegates of 90 delegates signed a partially assembled constitution. Military officers gathered the materials together and in July 1869 voters approved the convention’s proposals

Texas Constitution of 1869

A reaction to E.J. Davis and Reconstruction; 1869 constitution made many Texans angry. 1869 constitution had led to Governor E.J. Davis’s regime
- Power had been centralized in the state government
- Enabling Act
- Education policies in the administration had led to rising costs in property taxes.
Movement in the 1870s calling for a politics of substantive issues and restrictive constitutionalism

Reasons of Texas Constitution of 1876

One of the longest constitutions in the country
Amending process increased length and also created disorganization and confusion
- Plural executive
- Part-time legislature
- Dedicated funds and specific prohibited activities limit ability to react to social and economic changes
- Structure of Texas judiciary and method of selecting judges
- Severe restrictions on local governments

Criticism of the 1876 Constitution

Constitution that incorporates the basic structure of government and allows the legislature to provide the details through statutes

Liberal Constitution

Constitution that incorpoates detailed provisions in order to limit the powers of government

Statutory Constitution

- Article 1 contains the Texas Bill of Rights.
- Longer than the U.S. Bill of Rights and in some respects more extensive.
- Article 2 establishes a separation of powers.
- Prohibits an individual from holding positions in more than one branch simultaneously.
- Article 3 establishes the legislative branch, specifying its structure and powers.
- Article 4 establishes the executive branch.
- Retained the line-item veto
Article 5 created a judicial system that included a supreme court, a court of appeals, district courts, county courts, commissioners courts, and justice of the peace courts. Article 7 created a public school system that different dramatically from the system created by the Davis administration. Article 9, the Counties article, contains no information about the structure of county government and its officials. This is found in Article 5.
The constitution mandates a balanced budget.
- Except for war or insurrection, debt is prohibited
- Provides for dedicated funds – money to be used only for specified purposes

Texas Constitution of 1876

Article 17 establishes the process for amending the Texas Constitution, limiting it to only one method.
- Amendments proposed by joint resolution, which must receive a two-thirds vote by each chamber
- Secretary of state must issue a statement that describes the proposed amendment
- Statement must be approved by the attorney general and published twice in Texas newspapers that print official state notices
- Ratification of a proposed amendment requires a simple majority of those who actually cast ballots in an election

Amendment Process of Texas Constitution

By 2004, the Texas Constitution had been amendment 432 times in only 128 years.

Number of Amendments

Constitutional revision through constitutional amendments that add or delete items

Peicemeal revision

Constitutional revision through the adoption of a new constitution.

Comprehensive revision

A member of the constitutional convention who opposes any changes in the current constitution.

Cockroach

A member of a constituional convention who will not accept less than a total revision of the current constition